Pelham graduate Raven Allen is a working mom whose father died last year

PELHAM, Alabama -- Raven Allen was a 14-year-old who was
seven months' pregnant when she entered Pelham High School as a freshman, several
weeks later giving birth to a baby boy in October 2009.

View full sizeChase Learning Center owners Lorrie and Chuck P'Pool in Pelham have been helping Raven Allen with daycare for her 3-year-old son and a job while she finishes her senior year at the Shelby County School of Technology in Columbiana and prepares to graduate with her Pelham High School class. (Martin J. Reed / mreed@al.com)

"It was rough," said Raven, who is 17 and the mother of
3-year-old Carson Allen. "People were telling me I was wasting my time. A lot of
people said I should just drop out and get my GED. I wanted the diploma. I
didn't want the GED."

As if having a baby in high school was not enough, Raven
suffered another shock when her father died in a car crash her junior year while
her mother had her own ongoing problems. As a result, her half-sister gained
custody of Raven and her younger sister last fall.

"There was a period when I discovered that me and my
11-year-old sister were in the custody of no one," she said.

For her senior year, Raven has lived in Gardendale
outside Birmingham and attended Columbiana's Shelby County School of Technology
-- a roughly one-hour commute each way daily to get her education. Her son has
attended daycare at Chase Learning Center in Pelham, where she has worked after
school following her dad's death in April 2012.

Working, being a mother, dealing with the death of a
parent -- Raven is worlds apart from many of her peers. "Even now, I guarantee
you back at Pelham, because people haven't seen me in a year, they are going to
be surprised to see me at graduation on Thursday because I haven't dropped
out," she said.

Despite her hardships, Raven is graduating.

Mandy Kirk, a counselor at the School of Technology, is
amazed with Raven's achievements. "I don't know that I have ever encountered a
young lady with such strength, determination and perseverance," Kirk said in a
letter about her.

Raven is very much a teenager; she regularly drops the
word "dude" and beams when talking about attending prom. She jumped up and down
when she got her cap and gown, excited about graduating with Pelham High
School. But her experiences have forced her to deal with situations many other
kids cannot imagine.

"She's got a lot on her plate, more than most adults,"
Chase Learning Center owner Lorrie P'Pool said. "She's had so much adversity as
a child, but she doesn't tend to look at the negative. 'Oh, my gosh, you're
driving so far,' but she says back to me, 'I wouldn't have all this.' She sees
all the good in it. She always reminds me of the good stuff."

Being a parent in high school, Raven wants to buck the
trend of negative stereotypes surrounding other young moms. "It's disappointing
to me for society to have a set idea of what we do," she said.

"I seriously hope in the future -- I'm not promoting teen
pregnancy -- but I seriously hope in the future people will see there are
amazing young parents that want to do right and want to succeed. I don't want
people to get pregnant young, but when they do I want them to take care of
their children," she said.

Raven, who broke up with the father of her baby two or
three months into her pregnancy, is the first to say that she struggled through
school. "People were like, 'What are you doing here?' 'Well, I'm getting my
education.' A lot of people said, 'Your life is over,'" she said.

After giving birth, her grades plummeted and the demands
of motherhood were taking a toll. "At first I thought I was going to die. I
haven't slept. I wasn't taking time for myself at all. It was constantly
something: I was feeding him, I was changing him, calling the school, making
doctors' appointments," she said.

Raven bounced around during her high school years,
finishing her freshman year and starting as a sophomore at Pelham. She finished
her sophomore year in the Day Program in Alabaster, which allowed her to
advance.

"The only downfall to the Day Program was I think a lot
of the students in there had gotten in trouble. Some were on probation," she
said. "The counselors knew that and they treated the whole school as if
everyone was delinquent. ... I don't want to be treated like I've done something
wrong when I'm trying to do something right."

Problems at home with her mother increased during her
junior year back at Pelham High School, prompting her to move in with her
father, Glenn Allen of Bessemer, who had struggled with substance abuse issues
and jail.

"I've seen addiction in so many shapes and forms, and
when addiction gets you there's nothing that can save you from this except
yourself," Raven said.

Her father had saved himself. "When he got out that last
time, he had acquired certificates. He had went through Bible course studies. He
had gained skills. He had changed. He didn't cuss. He didn't drink," she said.

Raven's world again radically shifted, this time on April
18, 2012, when her father died in a crash after dropping her off at school. A
counselor pulled her from class to go to the main office, where a room full of
cops awaited her.

"They used this word and I will never forget this word
for the rest of my life and I never want to use this word: He said he's
deceased," she said. "Can we make this any more clinical? ... I was wearing my
dad's sweater that day. I just balled the sweater in my hands and I was
screaming."

Raven's half-sister, Amber Moon, secured an apartment in
Gardendale where she could live with her two younger siblings. She ultimately
became their legal guardian over their mother. "I really appreciate her taking
us in and keeping us out of the situation we just got away from," Raven said,
noting problems her mom was having.

After her father died, students and others rallied around
Raven. People threw a benefit concert to raise money for her father's burial
while friends referred her to the Chase Learning Center in Pelham. "The lady
that owns the daycare, she's practically adopted me," Raven said of Lorrie P'Pool
along with her husband, Chuck.

"After we put Carson in the daycare, Chuck and I were
talking, 'What if this is my child?'" P'Pool said about giving Raven a job. "I
just thought, 'Well, we took care of the baby, but how
is she going to buy gas?'"

For her senior year, Raven embraced the School of
Technology's Success Program, which is aimed at dropout prevention. "It was the
support I needed from the teachers. When people believe in you, you're going to
believe in yourself," she said.

She has her sights on a nursing degree from the
University of Alabama in Birmingham after attending Jefferson State Community
College. Her goals include being a good parent and college graduate who can be
independent.

"Even now, I'm on Medicaid. ... I look forward to being
able to say, 'I work. It pays taxes.' I'm going to appreciate it so much more
when I'm older and I can give back," she said. "I'm doing everything I can do
to prove these people wrong. Everything bad that's happened to me, in some way,
shape or form, I am thankful for it."